The Gift Ideas Blog

Mother’s Day bouquet of flowers, credit

Mother’s Day is in less than a week, but you still have time to find the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

You could go the traditional route of a big bouquet of flowers. Most flower shops and supermarkets have delightful arrangements of blooms that tell Mom that you love her. Pick big bright springtime colors. Red, whites, and pinks are very symbolic of love. Perhaps consider a dozen roses, or even better, a potted plant in a cute, decorative container that will continue to grow for years to come.

Also, consider delectable comestibles. Treat your mother out to a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. Take her to her favorite restaurant, or, because restaurants are usually very busy and loud during the big holiday, give her a gift certificate for a dinner on another day that might be more convenient. Many popular restaurants offer gift certificates for their dining rooms.

Perhaps you could give your mother a nice box of chocolates or candies. Many chocolatiers and confectioners are offering special Mother’s Day-themed gift sets filled with deliciously sweet collections of their products. Great chocolatiers include Vosges Chocolates, Burdick’s chocolates, and Recchiutti Confections.

If it comes down to the wire and you still don’t have something, perhaps consider a gift card to your mother’s favorite retailer. Although slightly less personal, at least your mother can choose her favorite item, so you know you can’t go wrong.

Sometimes, the best gifts are free. The best gift could be spending time with your mother. Or, create a heartfelt homemade card that shows how much you love her and recounting your favorite moments with her. Perhaps write a poem or story about your mother and frame it. Poets.org has a database of poems, and you can find an already-written poem that fits perfectly as a tribute to your mother. Print it out on nice paper and a unique font, or use your arts and crafts and calligraphy skills for a unique gift that Mom’s sure to put on your wall.

Flowers, chocolates, poetry, time spent with Mom… no matter what you select for your Mother’s Day gift, she’s bound to love you and your present. Don’t forget Mother’s Day this Sunday, and help make it a special day for that special woman in your life.

What are you giving for Mother’s Day?

Alphabet Photography by Jennifer Blakeley

Here’s a unique gift idea for a member in your household or a friend to help them decorate their bedroom or living room. Alphabet Photography allows you to select various photos of everyday objects that look like a letter in the alphabet. The letters are placed together to spell out a word or name!

For example, in the above image, a photo of a part of a ladder suggests the letter “H,” while in the following photograph the wheel suggests the letter “O.” So while each individual photograph is a close-up of an outdoor element, the aggregate effect suggests the word “HOPE.” Alphabet Photography sells these individual photographs that can later be displayed in a scrapbook or framed for display.

Photographer Jennifer Blakeley has expertly photographed and captured on film dozens of these naturally-occurring letters, and using the convenient online ordering form, you can select the letters and word to spell out for your Alphabet Photography gift. If you don’t like a particular version of a certain letter, you can actually select another depiction of the same letter. This helps make each Alphabet Photography order unique. (View the alphabet letters here.) The 4x6 sepia-toned photographs sell for
for $4.00 each, framing not included. Custom frames and the associated shipping can be expensive, so Alphabet Photography leaves the display options up to you so you’re not forced to buy a frame or even display the photographs in a frame. This method allows people of all budgets and incomes to enjoy a timeless piece of art they can truly call their own without breaking the bank. You can also combine the alphabet letters with other personal photographs, perfect for a scrapbook project!

A nice Alphabet Photography word or name makes a perfect decoration in a home, bedroom, or office. With an inspirational word such as “hope,” “joy,” “love,” or “dream,” it makes a wonderful reminder in our daily lives to do great things and to feel happy and well. You can also pick a name (first name or a family’s last name) to display in the format… a great tribute to the individual, family, or organization that receives the gift. It would also make a perfect Mother’s Day gift, as you could create the word “Mom,” or use your mother’s name, in the artistry. Your mother will be proud to display this beautiful and symbolic work of art.

Visit Alphabet Photography today to make your own artistic display that is certain to visually impress anyone who sees this magnificent, custom-made gift.

Looking for a fun floor cover that will also please the youngest members of your family? Consider FLOR, which makes modular carpet tiles for homes

Because FLOR makes modular carpet tiles, you can mix-and-match design and color carpet tiles to fit your tastes and surface area. It’s also great because of the many themes available for purchase. FLOR has recently entered into an agreement with Disney to create themed carpet tiles that feature popular such as those from the Disney-Pixar film “Cars,” the Disney Princesses, and the classic Winnie the Pooh characters.

The Gift Ideas Blog recently had a chance to review a set of “Cars”-themed FLOR carpet tiles, and we were particularly impressed by the vintage design and its durable nature. An advantage to using FLOR tiles is that if one tile gets dirty, all you have to do is lift up the stained tile and wash it. No need for inconvenient carpet washers and wet carpet.

With FLOR tiles, you can do a checkerboard pattern as pictured above, or you can line up the tiles in a row along a window or bedside. The choice is up to you. There’s also a variety of textures and colors that you can select from.

Finally, the rug tiles are partly made from recycled materials, and old tiles can be recycled. Check out FLOR today, and have some fun with your carpet!

Halloween Gift Basket from Oriental Trading Company

Well, Halloween will be upon us in a week, and there’s still plenty of time to find that delightful gift for the spooky holiday. Check out the posting below for major Halloween gifts to give, such as candy, costumes and decorations. Here are some more ideas:

Toys: There are a variety of neat toys you can give. From talking pumpkins to plus ghosts and goblins, there are many types of toys you can give to the younger set. There are action figures of characters from Halloween movies, such as the Nightmare Before Christmas or It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. How about a model of the scary Jack Skellington? Or Oogie Boogie from the Nightmare Before Christmas? Or maybe consider a skeleton model. It can make a fun toy to put together, it’s kind of spooky for the holiday, and the gift recipient will learn something about the amazing human body as well!

Also, check out these monster pillows from Mechanical Bunny. So scary yet cute!

Jack O’ Lantern

Arts and Crafts: How about creating a decorative Halloween wreath? Find a dark wreath made of twigs or sticks, easily found at your local craft store, and decorate it with fake or real dried leaves of different hues, from fiery red to bright yellow. This represent the autumn. Then, add little decorations such as a tiny broomstick for a witch, little ghosts using tissue paper, or other assorted Halloween paraphernalia. Perhaps even add small holiday lights in black/dark purple or orange so it even looks great at night. Your Halloween wreath will be the talk of the town when you display it prominently on your front door. Other crafts you can create are homemade decorations that are fun to make and even more fun to display at home. Create large posters of Halloween characters.

Homemade recipes: Bake some fun Halloween-themed cookies. Sugar cookies are easy to cut out with cookie cutters to create fun shapes such as a black cat, a witch on a broomstick, a jack-o’-lantern, a ghost, and other Halloween-themed objects. If you don’t have the time to make your own cookie dough, you can easily purchase a tube in the refrigerated section of your supermarket. Pillsbury and other brands have pre-made cookie dough that’s easy to roll out, cut, bake and decorate. Use frosting and sprinkles in Halloween colors of black, orange, green and purple to create a mysterious and fun culinary creation! For a fun and sweet project, cover lollipops (Tootsie pops are a favorite) with a tissue and hold in place with a rubber band. Then, on the bulb of the lollipop draw a cute, or spooky, ghost face. This makes a fun “ghost on a stick” that’s great to give to little children for a sweet surprise.

Best of luck finding the best Halloween gift for everyone!

Halloween gift basket from Devynns.com

The next big holiday coming up is Halloween, and while it’s not commonly a gift-giving holiday, you definitely have the chance to do something fun on this occasion. Some great Halloween gift ideas include the following:

Halloween costumes: If a loved one is having a hard time picking out a costume, you might consider giving one to them as a gift to help them out. If it’s a younger friend or relative, give an age-appropriate costume, such as a favorite cartoon character or animal. For your adult friends or relatives, you could give something more grown-up or risque. Be sure to get the right size for the Halloween costume gift. You wouldn’t want things to get too tight or too loose, which could pose a problem during nighttime trick-or-treating outings or late-night parties.

Other Halloween accessories, such as fangs, devil horns, angel wings, makeup, and trick-or-treating bags might make fun Halloween gifts as well.

Candy: Of course. Everyone loves those bite-sized candy bars, and supermarkets have a great selection during this time of the year. There’s the traditional Hershey’s chocolate bar, or M&Ms, as well as Starburst or Skittles, and other popular candy bars such as Snickers, Kit Kat bars, Milky Way, Rolo, Almond Joy, Nestle Crunch, Butterfinger, or Almond Joy. You can also dress up your candy, too, by putting them in a nice little basket or ceramic pumpkin decoration, or present it in a nice glass bowl. Halloween is all about sweets and treats, so give the sweet gift of candy during this festive occasion.

Halloween decorations: Fun light-up Jack-o-Lanterns or ghost lamps make great gifts. Also black lights and glow-in-the-dark spooky decorations could be popular as well. Fake tombstones or spiderwebs and giant spiders, or lawn witches can bring seasonal delight to any front yard.

Halloween gift baskets: You can buy Halloween-themed gift baskets that usually include lots of candy, some fun fall toys, and other spooky treats. They might come themed in the Halloween colors of orange and black, and maybe purple and green as well, and they could be based on themes such as pumpkins or Jack-o’-Lanterns, witches, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and other spooky characters.

Pumpkin-carving kits: It’s popular this time of the year to carve pumpkins, so you can help a friend or family member out by giving a pumpkin-carving kit. These usually include several carving knives, various patterns for carving, and tips on how to make the perfect Jack-O’-Lantern.

Try the above Halloween gift ideas, and you’ll be on your way to perfect holiday popularity!

Today we’re going to talk about good gift ideas.

No, not “good” as in the gift recipient will like it a lot. Good gifts as in it does good for the world. For example, consider giving a donation in somebody else’s name. Some charities will offer certificates of donation, and you can present that: “This certifies that John Smith has donated $500 to the American Cancer Society.” It’s a gift that helps a charity and is like sharing the good karma that comes from helping a good cause. There are even agencies that will help you take care of everything. For example, Charity Checks allows your gift recipient to donate to a charity of their choosing, while you get the tax deduction.

Also, consider gifts that are ethical or fair. For example, fair trade items help producers in other countries be paid a fair wage and price for their products. The most famous example are coffee and bananas. Other food products have recently been marketed as fair trade. Do your research and make sure you understand that it’s actually fair trade and the terms of the fair trade agreement before buying just because it says “Fair Trade.”

Give a pound of fair trade coffee as a gift to a coffee drinker. Or, consider fair trade arts and crafts. There are several sites, such as Cebra or Global Crafts, dedicated to selling arts and crafts and clothes from people who otherwise might not have an opportunity to make a living from their handiwork. Look for a company that is ethical and pays the craftmakers a fair wage.

Finally, give a gift that can be helpful to the environment or the world. For example, plants are often a good gift because when planted in a garden, they can continue to offer visual and environmental benefits. Trees, in particular, will grow tall and be a gift that will be remembered every time it is seen. Also, some charities allow you to donate money to preserve an acre of rainforest, or donate money for the restoration of destroyed environmental habitats. Perhaps you could try donating money in the name of your gift recipient, and that would benefit part of the world.

Give a good gift today, bring joy to your gift recipient, and help the world!

As a lot of people go on vacation this summer, a great gift to give is a digital camera. Why let your acquaintances pay so much for disposable cameras and the cost of developing film and getting prints when the eventual cost will add up to surpass that of a budget digital camera?

Digital cameras are great for travelers and those fun summer get-togethers. They can capture fun times at the beach or park or a visit to Disneyland or other theme parks. You can look back on your photos on your computer, burn them onto a CD, or order prints of them online or at your local photo developer.

They also make great gifts for recent college graduates because they will have many memorable experiences on campus and will want to remember them. Be sure to warn them not to post incriminating photos online on Facebook or MySpace because they might regret it later!

Some things to consider before purchasing a digital camera:

- Brand name (may indicate quality)

- Warranty

- Price

- Zoom capacity

- Red-eye prevention

- Screen preview (LCD monitor)

- Resolution (how many megapixels?)

- Included photo-editing software and other accessories (cleaning brush, tripod, carrying case, etc.)

Try Digital Photography Blog, Digital Camera Reviews, or Digital Photography Review for more helpful information about purchasing a digital camera as a gift.

Digital cameras come in various prices, so don’t automatically write it off as too pricey to be a gift. You can find some quality digital cameras without paying too much, and your gift recipient will appreciate it tremendously, too! Help make those memories by giving one as a gift.

CreativeThoughts has a great personalized birthday gift idea: The Birthday Chronicle!

Simply provide the gift recipient’s birthday, and the company will send you a completed sheet that you can frame (or you can purchase it already framed).

Printed on parchment-style paper, the 8.5″ by 11″ sheet tells all the world events that occurred on your gift recipient’s birthday! For example, was the birthday the same as the day JFK was shot? The day Elizabeth Taylor made her screen debut? The day Paris Hilton was born? The Birthday Chronicle will feature celebrity birthdays, as well as financial news, world events, and the weather on the day you were born!

And, for those needing a quick gift, there’s even the option of downloading an electronic file of the personalized Birthday Chronicle, so you can print it out yourself if you’re in a hurry.

Check out the Birthday Chronicle for a unique and personalized gift fit for individuals of all ages.

It’s summertime and a great time to give a random, fun gift. What are some great gifts to give during the summer?

A lot of people go to the beach during the summer, so you could get a beach gift. What would this entail? Maybe give a fun beach towel. Or a new swimsuit. Plastic shovels and pails and molds to create the perfect sand castle are also appropriate for the beach. Other beach toys, such as beach balls, volleyballs, a sand volleyball net, horseshoes, and kites might be a fun gift for those who spend a lot of time at the beach.

Of course, not everyone lives near the beach, but certainly a lot of people live near a body of water that is fun to visit in hot weather. For example, many people visit lakes or rivers for recreation, so similar gifts can be given.

A lot of people go swimming in pools and other bodies of water, so you could give snorkels, goggles, flippers, flotation devices, kickboards, surfboards, or wetsuits.

Maybe you could create a fun beach-themed gift basket, filled with snacks to take to the beach, some fun beach toys, maybe a tube of sunscreen or coconut-scented suntan oil, all placed in a beach pail or large fabric tote bag to carry all of the above? It’s perfect prepping for a fun day out at the beach. Great for the whole family.

Summertime offers a spectacular opportunity to give the gift of fun. Take advantage of the hot water and give a loved one or friend something exciting for the summer!

Digital photo frame

A charming, technology-friendly gift idea is to give a digital photo frame. This is a great way to show off those amazing photos you’ve taken with your digital camera. The digital photo frame will constantly display one image, or rotate through a series of digital photos.

It’s a perfect Mother’s Day gift idea because Mom will love seeing pictures of good times you’ve shared with her on this frame. It will bring back memories that will bring her great joy. Give a digital photo frame pre-loaded with your digital pictures, and it will be that much more meaningful.

Find a digital photo frame via Froogle.